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R.U.R. | Introduction

When Karel Capek’s R.U.R. (the acronymic title is short for ‘‘Rossum’s Universal Robots’’) was first performed in 1921, it became a major international success and made Capek an internationally known playwright. Although R.U.R. may appear slightly dated nearly eighty years later, the concerns expressed by the playwright are still interesting to modern audiences, and the play is still performed in regional theatres. Capek’s drama is also responsible for coining a new word, ‘‘robot,’’ which became an important fixture of Hollywood films, especially the B-films of the 1950s. The word ‘‘robot’’ is derived from the Czech word robota, meaning forced labor, but it was the topic of the play, that technology can imperil the world, that made the play controversial.

The problems this play deals with are not the realities of everyday life; instead Capek is exploring the larger issues of the human condition. With technology booming immediately after the end of World War I, R.U.R. touched on the concerns of many people. The idea of a utopian society to replace the one fractured by the horror of the first World War was especially appealing to audiences, some of whom were deeply disturbed by Capek’s vision of how technology might be misused. Capek’s concerns about the dehumanization of man through technology provides the central core of this play, and it is this motif that warns of the destructive force of technology.

Although contemporary assessments of Capek’s play frequently cite the stereotypical nature of the characters, there is enough depth to them to involve an audience, and this involvement is one of the play’s strengths. At performances of R.U.R., audiences and critics were both fascinated with the idea of non-humans that appeared human and terrified at the implications for human destruction at the hand of technology. These two reactions led to the play’s success.

R.U.R. Summary

Act I
The play opens with Domin dictating letters to his typist, Sulla. The setting is a small island, although its precise location is not clear. A visitor is announced, and Helena Glory enters. She claims to have come to inspect the facility and leads Domin to believe that she is there as a representative of her father, the president. She is introduced to Sulla and cannot believe that she is a robot. After careful questioning of the young female robot, Helena insists that Sulla must be human. Domin offers to dissect Sulla, and Helena is aghast that Sulla would be so readily sacrificed. Hearing that she is present, Busman, Hallemeier, Gall, Fabry, and Alquist rush in. At first, Helena mistakes them for robots and tells them that she is there to save them from exploitation. She is embarrassed to learn that they are managers and doctors at the site. A discussion about the manufacturing of robots ensues, and the audience learns that robots are extremely cheap to manufacture, that they can do any type of work more cheaply than man, and that R.U.R. envisions a world where robots will produce vast quantities of food and goods, thus replacing human workers. This society is meant to sound like another Eden, but it raises questions about slavery, especially when it is revealed that the robots occasionally suffer breakdowns, that they are soon to have pain receptors, and that their human creators see themR selves as gods capable of replicating creation. The men all invite Helena to lunch with them and all but Domin exit to prepare the meal. He immediately professes his love and asks Helena to marry him. After a passionate kiss, she is assumed to have agreed.

Act II
It is ten years later and it is clear that Domin is very worried about the news from abroad. There have been no boats, mail, or telephone calls in several days. The... » Complete R.U.R. Summary